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TAO Top 100

TAO Top 100

Tactics Arena Online is a turn-based strategy game that was established in 2003. Since that time, TAO servers have been host to millions of diverse and competitive players from around the world, each of them influencing and shaping this game in a unique way. This thread aims to recognize some of the greatest players in the history of TAO based on tournament performance, overall skill, stats, and contributions to the game.

-Special thanks to bludhoundz, The Professor, Darkness, and all others who have helped with these rankings.

(1) |AFO|- TAL Season 2 Champion, TAL Finals 2 Champion, GS4 Champion, Captain of Victorious Secret in PSST4. Achieved 1700+ on Great Lakes, Banff, and Armageddon. Leader of the NJ 12, AFO is one of the most consistent players in the history of TAO. His many TAO accomplishments as well as his remarkable longevity as an elite player give validity to his position at the top of these rankings.

(2) The Professor? - TAL Finals 3 Champion, runner-up in TAL Finals 2, GS1 Champion, GS4 Champion, FPS vs Legends Turtle record: 16-2, FPS vs Legends Freestyle Record: 9-0. Member of Netjak and leader of The Badasses, The Professor is superb in all 3 styles. He was also captain of the Female Body Inspectors in PSST5 and has typically performed well in PSST

(3) Detonation - One of the best PSST players ever, Detonation has won two rounds as Last Man Standing. He Made 3 consecutive TAL Finals, finishing 3rd in TAL Finals 2 and 2nd in TAL Finals 3. Achieved 1800+ on Great Lakes and can play all 3 styles at a very high level. He won GS1 in 2009 and GS2 in 2011.

(4) Rantzu1- Although he didn’t participate in a lot of tournaments, Rantzu’s success on both Legends and FPS servers is well-known. Rantzu, who is also known as ~GladiatoR~, was the leader of ChaosGladiators on Legends. His best style is probably turtle, but he could play all 3 well.

(5) OmegaShin - He was the first player to break 2000 stats on legends or any server. There are some rumors that he may have boosted a bit to get there, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that he was one of the best players that TAO has seen. He played primarily on legends where he led the top clan, Judgment. I think his highest recorded stats were 2031.

(6) Legend Z - TAL Finals 1 Champion with a 16-5 overall record, top 10 pick in PSST4, which included 128 players, competent in all 3 styles, and has had great longevity as an elite player.

(7) Punishment - Punishment was the leader of the Harry-Potter-themed clan, Hogwarts. Using accounts Albus Dumbledore and Godric Gryffindor, he waged war on Netjak. Additionally, Pun won GS1 in 2008, beating Prof in the championship round, and captained Mr. Rogers Neighborhood in PSST2.

(8) Poison Shadow - Poison Shadow is one of the friendliest, well-mannered players that I've ran into on TAO. PS first showed up on people's radar when he went 6-1 in PSST5. He followed that up by winning GS2 in 2010 and TAL Finals in 2011. Sound in all 3 styles.

(9) Bottle - One of the first players to break 1700 on FPS. Was captain of the team, The Great Leviathan, in PSST1 and his team won. Member of the Legends team in the first Revelations vs Legends tournament. Member of SI and later switched to Netjak. Very good at both grey and turtle, he contributed largely to the development of grey sets. He might be Pikachu.

(10) Frylock - First player to break 1800 on FPS. Participated in a lot of FPS tournaments and generally performed well. He could hold his own against anyone in grey and freestyle and in his prime he pretty much just trashed everyone he played in those styles. He went 18-0-1 in tryouts for the FPS grey team.

(11) Lieutenant - Generally considered one of the best all-around players in the game, the Colombia native was a top 10 pick in pretty much every team tournament that he played in. He won GS3 in 2008 and GS4 in 2011.

(12) Stiven - Originally from Legends, Stiv is considered one of the best greys to ever play, and is also an amazing freestyle player. He was a pretty quiet guy, but is generally thought of very highly by his TAO peers.

(13) Sniper Master - Perhaps the best freestyle player this game has ever seen. He dominated Revelations Grand League when it was exclusively freestyle in a very competitive era of TAO. He used the same setup every game. Players tried to counter him, but he still would find a way to win. He was not only efficient with his moves, but good at making other players play inefficiently. He could probably be ranked higher.

(14) bludhoundz - One of the nicest, well-liked TAO players. Also voted the hottest TAO female. He could play all 3 styles well, but was particularly known for his superb turtle play. He captained blud's bananas in PSST2. His team won and he finished undefeated. Participant in both of FPS vs Legends turtle tournaments. 1800+ player on Banff and #1 eater of Dape's stats.

(15) Allstar - Very active player. Very good player. Very good freestyle player. Member of the NJ 12. Captain of TAO Dream Team in PSST1, and Nursing Home Bandits in PSST3. He went 6-2 in PSST1. I think he’s from Canada.

(16) CRX - Achieved 1800+ on Great Lakes. Good freestyle player, good grey player. One of the leaders of Netjak. First overall pick in PSST1. Plays in the same Fantasy Football league as I do.

(17) Wack-Head - Solid all-around player, with emphasis in grey and turtle. One of the leaders of Netjak. He was the top overall pick in PSST3 and went 4-2, losing to Mithrandir in grey and Detonation in freestyle.

(18) Bobcat - Very good Legends player who eclipsed 1900 stats. He also played on the accounts TianChao and arkbloc on FPS. I think he was best at freestyle. In December of 2008 he held the top spot in the rankings on Legends on his Box Leaders account, which was in Netjak at the time.

(19) Monkus - Legendary turtle player. Broke 1800 on Great Lakes and lead Bushido Gaiden. He was the 4th overall pick in PSST1 and went 4-2. He was the 8th overall pick in PSST3.

(20) Ragnarth - When Ragnarth felt like it, he was the best turtle player in the game. But he didn’t always feel like it and he was inconsistent at times. Overall, he was an excellent turtle player and above-average grey player.

(21) Geeky_Bastard - Good at all 3 styles. Another Netjak leader. He was the 16th overall pick in PSST1 and went 7-2. He was the 2nd overall pick in PSST2.

(22) Lemon - He primarily played grey and is generally considered to be one of the best grey players ever. He could also play turtle and freestyle at a high level. Along with Eagle, he was one of the players that I most hated playing against because the games would last 2 hours and he took forever to move.

(23) Pikachu - I don't know where he's from. I don't know all of the accounts that he's played on. It's more likely than not that he's appeared multiple times on these rankings. In TAO's latter years, newer, unknown players who could play well good were suspected of being Pikachu. He's played in a lot of tournaments and won a lot of games. His best style is grey but he can play all three well.

(24) RAHAN - I think RAHAN tends to not get the respect he deserves as a player due to the fact that he's a little bit of an asshole. He won GS1 in 2010 and GS3 in 2011. He finished in 2nd place in TAL Finals 4, barely losing to Poison Shadow. He could probably be ranked higher on this list than he is.

(25) Magician - Easily one of the best turtle players to ever play this game. He would let me set legends style while himself playing with alpha rules and still kick my ass. Mag was the leader of the PSST3 team, The Tartan Army, which is considered maybe the best PSST team ever.

(26) Bodexxx - Elite player who was originally from Legends Server. He was a member of Chaos Gladiators on Legends. He was a quiet guy and didn’t post on forums much, so I think people tend to underrate him. But he was an amazing player who reached 1986 stats on Legends Server. I think he played as Knight’s Blood on Banff.

(27) Draquist - Describes himself as being the original TAO powerhouse and claims he will come for all of those above him on the list. Elite freestyle and turtle player. Captain of the team, Nude Breakdancers, in PSST2.

(28) Bullcat0 - I may have ranked him too high on this list, but he always kicked my ass in freestyle when I played him and I have a very high opinion of him. He was the 7th overall pick in PSST2. He was part of NJ’s Fantastique Four, along with |AFO|, Bottle, and Allstar.

(29) Tcbb - He was one of the first great players to play this game, but didn’t have the lengthy career that some of the TAO greats did. He played on grey accounts a lot, and activated his gold account when he felt like it.

(30) Aza - He was either the first, or one of the first, to achieve 1900 stats on Legends server, or any server. He played almost exclusively on Legends server. He didn’t participate in FPS tournaments and, as far as I know, stopped playing when Legends died. He broke 1900 stats in 2005, and held the top spot in Legends rankings for more than a year. He was in Netjak at that time.

(31) ExpectDeath - His primary server was Banff but he also played on Great Lakes. His best style was freestyle.. In-game mod. He also was a leader of the clan, Omnipotent. Before that he was a leader of Netjak.

(32) llrich - Originally started on Armageddon server and was in x-factor. He later founded the firm which he led until later joining The Badasses. He was one of the founders and 5 core members of The Badasses. He’s good at all 3 styles and probably best at grey. He was drafted 3rd overall in PSST5.

(33) Realist - Long-time TAO moderator and forum contributor. Hosted several TAO tournaments. Good all-around player. Great grey player. Created a thread called "Some basic anti strategy." Frequent agitator of RG in the Political Discussion Thread.

(34) Anarchy_United - Part of the 2007 FPS grey team and went 6-1-2 in the FPS vs Legends grey battle. He was also part of the 2007 FPS turtle team and went 6-3 in the FPS vs Legends turtle battle. Additionally, he was part of the 2007 FPS freestyle team which I couldn’t find W/L records for. He was the 3rd overall pick in PSST3 and the 14th overall pick in PSST2.

(35) _-x-X-x-_ - He was originally from Legends server. He was kind of a dick. He reached 1936 stats on Legends and was in the clan ToySoldierz at the time. He pissed off seed in some way (I think by freezing people in-game) and was banned. He swore constantly in the lobby (another great feature of Legends; no filter).

(36) Tactoholic - Impressive grey player from Netjak. He was one of the first to use wardless grey sets and, because of his success, they became more popular among TAO players. He was one of the top performers for FPS server going 7-2 in the FPS vs Legends grey battle in 2007.

(37) Brutal Rage - Excellent grey player and could play turtle well too. Created TAO Rankings. He was the 28th overall pick in PSST5 draft, but submitted a performance worthy of a top pick by going an impressive 9-1.

(38) Warcow - Played primarily on Great Lakes and lead the clan, The Elite. His best style was turtle, and he used a slightly unorthodox set which included a furgon but no frost golem. He was the 8th overall pick in the PSST1 and went 7-2. From Canada.

(39) Mithrandir - The best tournament host ever. Also a very good grey player. He was picked 12th overall in PSST3 and went 5-0 with wins over Wack-Head, Solingro, gigolojlo, Realist, and worker. He was on the 2 best PSST teams ever; Tartan Army and Victorious Secret. He was drafted 12th overall in PSST3 and beat the number 1 overall pick, Wack-Head.

(40) Darque - First player to win a trophy and have the trophy unit. Drafted #1 overall in PSST2 by his brother, Draquist. Darque, Draquist, and Monkus won Tid and death’s most excellent team tournament by beating Gryph, C.H.I.L.L. and manonfire in the finals. Darque beat me in freestyle. Fucker.

(42) Redreoicy - He’s not as well-known as some of the other players on this list with similar rankings, but Redreoicy was absolutely a great player. Member of SI and good at all styles. Like many other SI members, he was particularly beastly in grey.

(43) *Machiavelli* - Originally a legends player and had several ranked accounts there. Moved to FPS around 2007 and played on revelations server as PoundeR. He was in The Badasses for a while. He was the 4th overall pick in PSST4.

(44) Darkfire Phoenix - DFP was one of the leaders of HA (Hells Angels) and was solid at all 3 styles. Apparently he was Spencer’s protégé. His best style was turtle.

(45) Wayfaerer - Originally from Legends server. He played on the account Wayfaerer and led the clan, SoilWorkers. He had a trophy, but I don’t remember how he got it. Presumably he won some tournament or sent Nude pics to Seed. He was 1800+ on Legends.

(46) Hoolwath - He was yet another elite turtle player, which he proved by winning GS2 in 2008. He was also the 3rd overall pick in the PSST2 draft and went 6-0.

(47) Rubbish - Native of Colombia, Rubbish finished 3rd overall in TAL Finals 1, going 13-8. He earned mastery in freestyle, going 6-1 in that style with wins against The Professor?, Detonation, Master TAO, Lieutenant, Anarchy United, and Stiven. He is the nicest guy on TAO and probably the most handsome Colombian that I'll ever know.

(48) Spencer 555 - Canadian native and oddly born on the same day and year as me. He won GS2 in 2009 and was a participant in TAL Finals in 2010. He was captain of the legendary PSST team, The Ginyu Force, which won PSST5 by upsetting the heavily-favored, Female Body Inspectors.

(49) Master of the Blade - Not everyone will recognize this name, but he was one of the best players from very early Legends. He was in the clan, Imperial Guard, which I’m fairly certain that he led. Good at all styles and typically mentioned as one of the top players on old Legends threads.

(50) BlackSyphon - He started as BlackSyphon and was a member of OutKast. He later moved to Legends server for the grey tournaments and joined Netjak under the name du. I think his best style was grey.

(51) Lodovico - Originally from Legends, he was an excellent freestyle player. He was in the clan, Judgment. I think he was Italian. From what I can remember, he was pretty laid back personality-wise.

(52) Dan U - Stud turtle player and very crafty with a furgon. Typically when I played him I got killed by a furgon/frost combination. By the time he beat me half of the board was covered in shrubs.

(53) Dr. Nipples - Acquired stats with apparent ease. Screwed around on Great Lakes and beat everyone. Very good at turtle and grey.

(54) Bax Varlet - Played as Zoma on Rev. He was the captain of the PSST3 team, Darkwing Ducks. He was the captain of the PSST4 team, 13itch Please. He finished in the Top 8 in TAL Season 2 and was a participant in the end of season tournament.

(55) Manadragon - 1800+ player from Legends Server. He was a very good turtle player, and participated in FPS vs Legends turtle tournament in 2007 as part of the Legends team. He went 3-3 overall with wins over bludhoundz, deepsea, and Hoolwath. He was in the clan YWN (Your Worst Nightmare).

(56) noda - Best at grey, good at turtle. Started on Banff server as noda and also played on Great Lakes as Legit Penguin. One of the first players to popularize the idea of the anti-rush. SI Member. Was drafted 7th overall in PSST1.

(57) The Sniper - Not to be confused with Sniper Master. He was bludz’ training buddy on Banff server. Very good freestyle and turtle player. SI Member.

(58) Bonesplitter - I think he’s originally from Legends, but don’t know what account he used there. He won TAL Finals 6 in 2013. He has high stat accounts on Great Lakes and Revelations (although he may have boosted his rev stats). He is a good freestyle and turtle player.

(59) Pxndx - I think he’s like a 6’5 dude from Spain, but not 100%. His best style was turtle, but he was also very good at grey. He played on the FPS grey team in the FPS vs Legends grey tournament in 2009.

(60) Moose - He played in the early days of TAO and was originally from Legends server. His best style was turtle I believe. I think he was a leader of Slayers Guild, although he may have just been a member. He is Canadian.

(61) Powza - Powza was known for his grey playing. He was part of the FPS team in the FPS vs Legends grey battle in 2007, which FPS ultimately won. I think he is Australian. He made threads lamenting the deaths of Steve Irwin and Peter Brock.

(62) xEaglex - Another solid all-around player who was especially good at grey. Like Lemon, he took for god damn ever to make a move. He captained the team, Birds of Prey, in PSST4. He won GS4 in 2009, beating Sniper Master in the championship game.

(63) Lord White - There is no denying that Lord White is a very good player. Most of his rep comes from Legends server, which is where he started. He frequently signs up for FPS tournaments and gets disqualified. I’ve never seen such a good player who was so bad at using forums. His best style was probably turtle.

(64) Maverik07 - He was a solid all-around player and particularly good in grey. He was in and out of several popular clans. He played as Hot Action Cop on revelations server. His home server was Armageddon. He led the team, The ShamWOWs in PSST4. He’s been a long-time participant in TAO tournaments including TAL Finals 2, 4, and 5.

(65) Ualldeathwithme - Excellent turtle player and I think he was in AK (Arcadian Knights). He was the 19th overall pick in the PSST4 draft, which included 137 players, and went 6-2 as part of the team, The ShamWOWs.

(66) Master TAO - Prof described him as a poor man’s Lieutenant. I suppose this means that he could play all 3 styles well, but not quite at the same level as Lieutenant. Participated in TAL Finals 1 and finished 7th overall. He was also a part of the FPS freestyle and turtle teams in 2009.

(67) Tugnus - Short, part-Asian, husky, and super best friends with Spencer, Tugnus represents the full package both on and off the battlefield. He was a great freestyle player that reached 1700+ on both Banff and Armageddon. He made people hate DSM sets.

(68) QuicksandSlowly - I'm pretty sure he started on Legends and then migrated to FPS. He achieved 1700+ on Legends server and was in the clan, Slayers Guild.

(69) Cuathon - Cuathon was in the clan SI (Strategic Insomniacs) in his early days and played primarily on Great Lakes (though I think he had a bunch of different accounts on different servers). He raised multiple accounts to 1700. I was never a huge fan of his but he was a good player.

(70) HolidayForHire - From Great Lakes. Early member of AL (Arcadian Legends). Good at freestyle and grey. Achieved 1700+ on Great Lakes and 1300+ on Revelations. He didn’t talk much, he was pretty quiet, but he was a good player.

(71) Cliché - Cliché played primarily on Great Lakes server where he achieved 1700-1800 stats. He was a leader of Arcadian Knights and Netjak. His best style was turtle, but he could also play free and grey well. He was a leader of the PSST team, The Truth, in PSST2.

(72) PUNISHER - Old Great Lakes player and co-founder of the clan HA (Hells Angels). Very good turtle player and also solid in grey. He didn’t participate in a lot of tournaments but he achieved 1750+ stats on Great Lakes.

(73) ~Priest~ - Extremely nice and funny person. His primary server on FPS was Great Lakes. He wasn’t spectacular at any one style, but he was well above average at all 3. His best was probably turtle. He’s from California, but I think he lives in China currently.

(74) Mask - Another Legends player. He was a member of SI (Strategic Insomniacs) and his best style was grey. He could also play freestyle quite well. He nearly beat me in GS1 in 2011.

(75) Doctor_Device - Primarily a freestyle player and played on Great Lakes. I think he was either in AK or AL but I’m not too sure. He played on the 2009 FPS team in the FPS vs Legends tournament. He was on the PSST5 Ginyu Force team and beat Sniper Master in freestyle. Pretty cool guy in general.

(76) –Unforgettable - Unfo has improved a lot in the last few years, finishing 2nd in TAL Finals 5 and 2nd in TAL Finals 6. He’s decent at all 3 styles, but best at turtle in my opinion. I think he’s originally from Legends but has played primarily on Great Lakes in his FPS tenure.

(77) ShadowBone - Older player from Legends Server. He raised multiple accounts to 1700+ stats on Legends. He was in the clan CK (Celestial Knights). He played on FPS a bit too, on Great Lakes, where he was 1600+. Best at Legends grey and Legends freestyle.

(78) Roody Poo - One of the leaders of Netjak in the early days. AFO claims he was one of the best players ever using a default grey set, and that he kicked AFO’s ass all the time when he first joined Netjak.

(79) freshevaus - He played primarily on Great Lakes, and was a great freestyle player. He was one of the leaders of AL (Arcadian Legends). He achieved 1700+ stats on Great Lakes. He also played on Armageddon on the account, Rico Suave.

(80) SpLiFF - Member of Netjak. 1700+ player on Great Lakes. Played a lot of freestyle. Also played on Banff on an account called m@rs and achieved 1700+ stats. Good player and one of the earlier players on TAO.

(81) Celtic - Huge dick. Great troll. Celtic was one of the founding members of The Badasses and a pretty decent player all around. He was best at freestyle. Really, though, Celtic was a pretty nice person if you got to know him a little bit. He's also a Kansas Jayhawks fan which automatically makes him a better person than any of you.

(82) zzzaacckk - He was one of the leaders of Bushido Gaiden. He played mostly from 2004 to 2006. He didn’t participate in many tournaments. He played primarily on Great Lakes and achieved 1700 stats.

(83) Omar - Also known as Luzbel. I don’t think he ever won any major tournaments but he’s been an above-average player for a long time. He’s always drafted well in PSST. He does well in most of the tournaments that he signs up for. Solid all-around player, I’m not sure if he’s best in turtle or freestyle.

(84) ~Slayer~ - Another Australian. He was a pretty solid grey player at one point, and then he became complete shit. He's also shitty at Halo. He was drafted 9th overall in PSST2, 19th overall in PSST3, and 26th overall in PSST4. He’s currently in The Badasses.

(85) Soda - Great grey player and member of SI. He was a bit arrogant, but also pretty funny. He played on Great Lakes. He was the 10th overall pick in PSST2 and the 21st overall pick in PSST3. He went 5-2 in PSST2. He was part of the NJ12.

(86) Darkness - He started on Great Lakes and broke 1600 stats. He was the leader, and still is, of the Arcadian Knights. He was best at freestyle and not far behind in grey. He’s a New Orleans Saints fan.

(87) Lord Shinok - Member of Netjak. I think he was best at freestyle, but I could be wrong. From what I’ve heard and what I remember myself, he was a bit of a goofball.

(88) |Number_One| - To quote Prof, “He was awesome at grey. And the fucker somehow gave me a loss during the FPS vs Legends turtle tourney.” He beat Lemon and AFO in PSST4. He was on The Ginyu Force in PSST5. Originally from Legends server.

(89) Geoffrey - Old SI (Strategic Insomniacs) member that played almost exclusively grey. I think he played on all FPS servers, I don’t recall which he started on.

(90) Chainheart Machine - Also known as Silent Fear. He started on Armageddon where he achieved 1700 stats. He was a member of SSTEO (Start Slow Then Ease Off), which was led by The Big Kahuna. He was a very good freestyle player.

(91) Swiftness - He was a member of Netjak and I used to play him occasionally on revelations. I’m assuming freestyle was his best style based on the fact that he would typically kick my ass, but he may have been good at other styles as well.

(92) ATControl - Also known as Dark7. He was in multiple clans during his TAO tenure and his best style was easily turtle. He could also play grey a bit I think. He was the MVP of PSST5. He went 9-0 as part of The Ginyu Force, and beat several noteworthy players in the process.

(93) Zadico - I don’t know how to describe this guy. He’s just been around for a long time. He was the 14th overall pick in PSST3, the 18th overall pick in PSST4, the 10th overall pick in PSST5, the 27th pick in PSST6, a captain in PSST7, and has participated in a shit load of tournaments in general. I don’t think he was ever an elite player, but his longevity as a good player dictates that he be put on this list.

(94) Ricky-X - Brother of the super TAO player, Isaac-Z. He started on Armageddon where he had pretty good stats. He was in the clan, Final Destiny, which I think was spelled with some goofy crosses and other symbols. I played him a few times. He was never quite as good as Z, but he was a very good player.

(95) A-99 - He was either in AK (Arcadian Knights) or AL (Arcadian Legends). He participated in several TAO tournaments, including on the FPS team in the FPS vs Legends tournament in 2009. He went 5-5 in overall and contributed to and FPS victory. He also beat me in that tournament. Bastard.

(96) Reymo - Originally from Legends server. He was good at Legends grey (which includes beast drops) and freestyle. Member of CK (Celestial Knights). He played in several FPS tournament including multiple PSSTs (he was on The Ginyu Force), and he was a member of the Legends team in the FPS vs Legends tournament in 2009.

(97) The Antibiotic - I’m not a huge fan of his, but he’s a very good, and maybe a little bit underrated, grey player. He’s never been a lottery pick in PSST, but in my experience playing against him, he’s been one of the better grey players that this game has to offer.

(98) C.H.I.L.L. - From what I remember he was a really nice person. He played with myself and Gryph89 in Tid and Death’s Most Excellent Team Tournament in 2006. He played grey, but that might have been because gryph bitched about being in turtle. I think he could play all styles fairly well.

(99) Dragoen Link - Dragoen Link was one of the earlier players in this game and started on Great Lakes server, where he lead the clan, AK (Arcadian Knights). He achieved 1800 stats on Great Lakes, according to Darkness, which I don’t remember him doing. But he was a good player. I played him multiple times back in the day, including in a clan war.

(100) Phillysoul29 - One of the laziest players in TAO history, gave up a promising Turtle career to move to faster Freestyle games. Not an advocate of the rule changes preventing wisp on first move as his original freestyle set didn't include DSM. Could give any player a run for their money in free games. Joined TAO at the inception and played on GL and legends. Eventually became a leader of KoTR and †Hells Angels†.